Thanks Michael, it should be OK. Turt is a relatively modern exploitation, so 17 years seems to be too old for Turt, and it is true that Herja supplied some Calcites looking like the famous ones from Turt....

Thanks Michael, it should be OK. Turt is a relatively modern exploitation, so 17 years seems to be too old for Turt, and it is true that Herja supplied some Calcites looking like the famous ones from Turt....

Jordi,
After considering the above discussion, I decided to examine the calcite again as I hadn't seen it in hand for some time. One thing that I had forgotten, was the fact that the bottom side of the specimen is covered with small quartz crystals that are partially included with jamesonite. While both of these species occur at Turt, I believe that this is an association that is more characteristic of Herja, ie., "Herja diamonds" That and the fact that you mentioned Turt as being a relatively new exploit, pretty much satisfies whatever doubts I had.
Michael

Today I will show a few minerals from the well-known mining center at Baia Sprie, which is situated in the mountains about 9 km east of Baia Mare. The history of mining in Baia Sprie dates back to the 13th century, when it was known by it’s Hungarian name, Felsobanya. Through the centuries, numerous pits and shafts exploited the rich deposits. At least 45 minerals have been recorded from Baia Sprie, and it is the type locality for 5 minerals: andorite, felsobanyaite, klebelsbergite, semseyite, and szmikite.

0249 Stibnite (2).jpg

Description:

StibniteBaia Sprie, Maramures, Romania4.3 x 5.5 cm.A divergent cluster of steel gray, striated crystals with low angle terminations. The label that came with this specimen attributed its location to the IPEG mine. While there is no documented mention of this mine in the literature, there were numerous shafts that exploited the large orebody at Baia Sprie, and one of these may have been worked by an exploration company named IPEG which apparently stands for "Intreprinderea de Prospectiuni si Explorari Geologice."

BaryteBaia Sprie, Maramures, Romania9.5 x 10.5 cm.Glassy transparent tabular Baryte crystals covering a thin matrix. The Baryte crystals on the back of the specimen are heavily included with jamesonite.

Today I will start showing a few specimens in my collection from the mines at Cavnic. I'm pretty sure most collectors are familiar with this locality and it's history, but for those who aren't - a little background.

The historic mining town of Cavnic is situated in a valley surrounded by the Gutin Mountains about 25 km east of Baia Mare. Mining at Cavnic dates to the 14th century when the town was known by it’s Hungarian name Kapnik or Kapnikbánya. In early times the deposits were worked for silver, gold and lead, while lead and zinc were sought during modern times. Like Baia Sprie and Herja, the deposits at Cavnic were accessed through numerous mines. The most notable mines during modern times are the Boldut, Cavnic, Roata, and Suior mines. The mineral assemblage at Cavnic was more diverse and more colorful than that of Baia Sprie and Herja with about 70 different species recorded. Cavnic is the type locality for rhodochrosite. All of the mines at Cavnic have been closed since 2008.

ChalcostibiteBoldut Mine, Cavnic, Maramures, Romania8.5 x 9.0 cm.Sharp, bladed aggregates of dark gray, metallic chalcostibite with minortetrahedrite on a quartz matrix. Collected from a single find at this location in 2000.

ChalcopyriteBoldut Mine, Cavnic, Maramures, Romania6.0 x 6.1 cm.Ivory-white, wafer-like calcite crystals with brassy, matte-luster chalcopyrite. The habit of the calcite is reminiscent of material found in the late 1990s, but this piece was collected in 2005.

Thank you Bob. I have really enjoyed assembling this Romanian collection over the years. Sadly, specimens from these classic localities are becoming more and more difficult to find each year.

Today's post will finish Cavnic, and I hope to finish Romania tomorrow with a couple of specimens from Baiut as well as several odds and ends from localities outside Maramures.
Michael

1626 Calcite.jpg

Description:

CalciteBoldut Mine, Cavnic, Maramures, Romania5.0 x 5.5 cm.Pale pink manganoan calcites. The angle at which the two crystals intersect make me think that these are possible twinned on the 'butterfly' law.

Today I will finish up Romania with a stibnite specimen from Baiut, the easternmost locality in the Maramures district. Baiut is situated about 32 km southeast of Baia Mare and is known for its thick stibnite crystals with flattish terminations. Although 51 different species have been recorded there, apparently there are few minerals of importance to the collector apart from stibnite. Or, perhaps the other minerals never reached the U.S. markets. For whatever reason, one does not see much other than stibnite from this location.

I would also like to show a few images of specimens in my collection that are from other areas of Romania. The Ocna de Fier Mine in the Banat Mts. has been mined for iron ore since the middle ages. Although never as common as specimens from Maramures, this Fe-Cu skarn-type deposit has produced some nice minerals. Lastly, what collection from Romania would be complete without a specimen from the ancient mines at Rosia Montana.

Now that I have finished showing much of my Romanian collection, I tried to decide where to go next. While browsing through some photos, I came across a few Tsumeb pieces that I thought were worthy of posting. At one time I gave serious thought to assembling a Tsumeb collection. I did manage to put together a modest suite of minerals from Tsumeb, but since there were quite a few other collectors that already had fantastic Tsumeb collections, I decided to focus my energies elsewhere. That said, no worldwide collection would be complete without a few representative pieces from one of the world's greatest mineral localities.
Michael

Today's post includes a few more of the common species at Tsumeb. I have photographed the dioptase on several occasions, and while the color is pretty close, no amount of adjustment I make renders a really true color. The last piece is one that I acquired recently, more for it's interest as a pseudomorph. It was once in the collection of Ed Swoboda and the previous labels that accompanied the specimen had some interesting notes. Apparently, noted Tsumeb dealers, the Zwiebel's, acquired a small lot of interesting pseudomorphs from a miner in mid-1980. Among them were a few specimens of willemite after azurite and smithsonite after cerussite. This piece was among the 20 or so specimens from that find. That pretty much finishes my Tsumeb collection, so I'm thinking maybe Dal'negorsk next.
Michael

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